No amount of security
is worth the suffering
of a mediocre life
to a routine that has
killed your dreams.
"I officially declare this a bad idea," muttered Sirius just as his foot slipped as they made their way down to Hagrid's hut, thankfully the lad managed to regain his balance just in time, letting out an indignant huff before moving on. It was dark out and the five students had absolutely no chance of returning back to the castle before their curfew, which was ten minutes later.
"And what exactly are we looking for?" Remus' eyes focused, trying to distinguish the figures behind the half-giant's hut, but the trees' silhouettes disappeared in the shadows of the night, giving them a poor vision of what stood a couple of feet away from them.
Alexis sighed, leaning into the humble hut for support. She too tried to find anything unusual around them. "I don't know," she whispered, "we just wait." James and Sirius let out an uncannily synchronized groan, making the others look at them with quizzical but amused expressions. "You two creep me out sometimes," Alexis smirked.
"No need to get jealous," Sirius gave her a quick wink just as he rested his arm around James' shoulder, who did not seem to mind in the slightest. "Sharing is caring, so you can have him on the weekends if you want."
Alexis had a witty remark ready that she didn't get to use because Remus pushed and pulled them all behind the hut, making them run into each other on the way. Complains were sure to follow from the two biggest whiners in Hogwarts, but Remus was quick to silence them. "Someone's coming down," he whispered and nodded towards the silhouette making its way down the hill.
"Who is that?" Sirius whispered back, leaning under Remus to have a better look.
"Why, McGonagall of course." James said with sarcasm dripping off his voice. "Didn't you know? She's having an affair with Hagrid." It took a lot of power of will to stop himself from face-palming when Sirius and Peter looked seriously concerned with the news they had just acquired. "It's Ivy, you dimwits!" He raised his voice but made sure to still keep it a whisper, his glasses slightly sliding down his nose from his abrupt movements.
Remus shook his head in a reprimanding manner and walked towards the other side of the hut to have a better view of Ivy who by now was already reaching the edge of the woods. "Is she--talking to someone?"
"Well, yeah. I reckon if someone asked to meet her here then surely there's someone waiting." Sirius leaned behind Remus, hearing his "sod off" loud and clear which was sure to start some bickering.
"Question is who is she meeting with?" Alexis whispered to herself, her eyes glued to the girl who was slowly starting to become just another shadow.
"Maybe she's having an affair?" Peter tried to reason from besides her, being the only other person focusing on Ivy as James had taken the job of mediator in Sirius' and Remus' argument. Alexis was about to half-heartedly agree when an ear piercing scream echoed across the silent grounds. Their heads turned as if on cue, all five of them watching paralyzed as their friend got forcibly pulled into the complete darkness of the forest.
Hagrid's hut's door slammed open with the caretaker frantically asking questions, but Alexis' legs had already carried her halfway to the woods and were not planning to slow down. "Go get Dumbledore or McGonagall!" James' desperate voice shouted from somewhere behind her, instructing the half-giant who did as he was told.
Darkness was completely surrounding them, the moonlight unable to help as the top of the trees stopped its entrance, but somehow their senses seemed to have become sharper. Every sound, every movement, every silhouette. It all became solid figures and particular noises. The sound of their steps against the crushing leaves and heavy breathing was the only thing that could be heard. If Ivy was out there, there was no way of knowing as the girl's screaming had long ceased.
Alexis slowed down, unsure of where to head to as the forest was incredibly vast. They could be close or incredibly far from her, there was no way of knowing. She turned to the boys with distress clear on her features, silently asking them for help. They all had a better understanding of the Forbidden Forest, having run through it on many nights when the full moon adorned the skies. It was James who believed he had a clue on where she could be; hoping and praying he was right, he took off running and leading his friends, taking several turns as his mind became frantic with the vivid memory of the route to their destination.
A circular clearing in the middle of the forest was an odd, eerie sight for anyone. Seeing a girl tied up in a kneeling position as she frantically cries only makes it worse. The few minutes had been enough for the mysterious kidnapper to rough her up badly, with several scratches and bruises becoming prominent in her fair complexion. Her temple was bleeding but as painful as it looked the girl had other things in mind. The cloth around her mouth turned her screaming into muffled groans which were mistaken, along with her wide eyes, as a sign of panic. When really the Ravenclaw couldn't find enough ways to warn them about the creature luring in the shadows.
Something felt wrong. Something felt incredibly wrong. It was James who first sensed it, causing him to stop his friends from taking any step further. Ivy wasn't just abandoned in the middle of nowhere. There was someone out there. Someone who wasn't hiding but waiting for the right moment. Someone who wanted to put on a show. "We don't have all night! Why don't you just skip the theatrics and come out already?!"
A silhouette began to form in the shadows as a man took slow steps forward. Ivy's groaning intensified but everyone's attention was set on the figure behind her. "Taking his fucking time, isn't he?" Sirius muttered, his impatience wearing thin. But once the man emerged from the shadows, a sinister smile on his lips, Sirius wished he would've kept his mouth shut. Everyone wished for it to be a nightmare. A twisted, fucked up nightmare. When Fenrir Greyback appeared in front of them, everyone wished for it to be nothing but a very sick, bad dream. The man's mere presence was more than enough to unnerve even the strong hearted, which happened to be Alexis' most defining characteristic. Still, the Slytherin descendant could feel the shivers running down her spine, a fear that not even her brother could cause. But nothing compared to the utter fear that Remus Lupin felt on every inch of his being when the man that ruined his life and robbed him of his childhood that horrible night stood a mere few feet away.
"Looks like we got ourselves a party." A sardonic smile adorned the man's face as he continued taking small, confident steps towards them. However, Alexis noticed how his gaze seemed to set on her for longer than intended even though he tried to be discreet about it.
"I'm offended we weren't invited." Alexis didn't know where her new found courage was coming from but she sure made the best of it, using her momentum to take taunting steps forward. Her sudden assertiveness made the boys stand back, understanding she had a plan.
"I'm sure there was some sort of misunderstanding." Fenrir tried to remain unbothered but he never, not for one second, fooled Alexis, who saw him take an instinctive step back when she began nearing him. His stoic expression gave a lot away, his nerves becoming apparent to the young witch whose confidence grew with each step.
Then, it clicked. Fenrir was not a Death Eater. Not yet. However, he was a good acquaintance of her brother. Business partners, one could say. A favor for a favor. But regardless of the circumstances, there was one rule that always had to be followed if you wanted Voldemort's mercy: never hurt Alexis Riddle. The few that tried their luck ended up either dead or severely injured. Not even his most loyal follower, Bellatrix Lestrange, was able to escape his wrath, having ended up unconscious for almost two months for her mistake.
Now it was Alexis who smiled sardonically as she continued taunting the lycanthrope, knowing better than to push it too far. Fear could always be overthrown by ego. "You might want to go back now," Alexis held her hands behind her back, tightly clutching her wand. She needed to shield Ivy in case that lunatic lost his senses.
"You're underestimating me, darling," he snarled, his proximity allowing her to see his sharp teeth which were not a result of lycanthropy but rather of his twisted mind. "You think you lot are going to stop me from taking this one away with me?" He nodded in Ivy's direction. "May I remind you that I already took one of you down," he whispered menacingly in her ear, his eyes setting on Remus. "And I wouldn't mind taking you lot as well."
"I'd love to see you try," Alexis growled.
"Don't try me." Fenrir made an inhuman noise which strongly resembled a werewolf growling, accidentally giving Alexis a brilliant idea on how to save her friends. She turned to have a better look at her friends, her eyes setting on Sirius who she knew could be the only one to help at the moment, the rest were too paralyzed by fear to act fast. Her eyes moved from him to Ivy, and back to him. Sirius gave her a subtle nod and looked away, trying to look unsuspecting.
"You're a coward, Fenrir." Alexis continued taking taunting steps as she rounded the man. "You were a poor excuse of a man, and now you're a poor excuse of a lycanthrope." She pressed, "you should feel ashamed of yourself. Doing favors for the Dark Lord? I didn't know you were his new servant."
"I'd watch my words if I were you." It was clear that he was losing his composure, making her grin satisfied as her plan was going accordingly. However, she was awfully aware that was an incredibly stupid plan.
"Don't try me," she whispered the same words he had used before.
"I wouldn't mind paying you a visit during the full moon, little girl." He growled again, and this time Alexis growled back. An animal-like sound came out her mouth, making Fenrir take a step back.
"You wouldn't do that, do you know why?" Fenrir tried to ignore the way her eyes became increasingly green, her iris growing inhumanly. "Because you're scared of my brother." That's all it took for the werewolf to lose his senses, lounging for the small and seemingly fragile girl. However, the girl in front of him disappeared and a panther took her place, making Fenrir stop in his tracks. He let out an amused laugh, discretely stepping back as the panther began to eye its prey.
Sirius took the animal's presence as his cue, making a run for it as he hurriedly tried to untie Ivy. "For Merlin's beard, am I or am I not a fucking wizard?!" He said, irritated with himself as he reached for his wand and used it to free the girl.
Alexis originally didn't plan to harm Fenrir, she only wanted to get her friends to safety until the Professors found them. However, when she heard Remus' voice her plans changed. "Get him!" he shouted with an overwhelming amount of emotion in his voice. Suddenly, severely harming Fenrir Greyback didn't sound like a bad idea.
Sirius checked on Ivy before pulling her back with the rest of the boys, all of them becoming a shield as they watched in awe and shock how the panther lounged for Fenrir, bringing him down with ease and making him scream with what sounded like excruciating pain.
"James! Sirius! Alexis! We're almost there! Hang on!" Hagrid's voice echoed from somewhere nearby where several footsteps could also be heard. Alexis took this as her cue to transform back and use her wand to clean the blood stains in her body and clothes.
"Oh, dear Merlin. What's happened here?" Minerva asked horrified as she saw the bloodied man laying unconscious. She was about to help him but after a closer inspection she came to the realization of the man's identity and instead opted to turn her back on him and focus on her students.
"It's a long story. How about we talk about it over tea and biscuits?" Sirius asked with a tired voice, already making his way back to the castle.
Everyone turned to Dumbledore, who simply nodded. "Minerva, take the students back to the castle. I'll take care of this." No one needed to be told twice, wasting no time as they made their way back. A tense, awkward silence followed the group as they made their way through the forest.
"I'll tell you what," Sirius broke the silence, "it never gets boring with these near death experiences."
"Shut up, Padfoot. You weren't even in danger."
A/N: I'm back!!!
I think we needed a little death eater drama but worry not my dear readers, because next chapter it's all about Jalexis and there may or may not be some smut in there 👀
ALSO what are you opinions on Remus and Catherine? Should we give her another chance?
I hope you liked this! I promise to write as much as I can this upcoming week to give you all a little New Years special.
Please like/comment if you liked (I'm sorry if I don't answer your comments but just know I've read them and I absolutely love you for taking the time to leave a comment, even if it's just you smashing your keyboard excited. 💖💖💖)